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The recent surge of democratic movements in the Arab World, including the January 25th protests that topled Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak's regime, opens new windows on the world of civil society and its role in asserting democracy. While these movements raise new questions for scholars of democratic movements and activists alike, they also share an inspiration in the democratic breakthroughs in Central and Eastern Europe that preceded them. Inspired by those who shaped the Arab Spring, the German Marshall Fund has published an Arabic translation of Reclaiming Democracy: Civil Society and Electoral Change in Central and Eastern Europe, by Pavol Demes, Joerg Forbrig and Robin Shepherd.

With an introduction by April 6th movement leader Ahmed Maher, Reclaiming Democracy provides a cross-section of perspectives on recent democratic breakthroughs in Central and Eastern Europe. Case studies drafted by civic leaders present inside accounts of how civil society helped to assert democracy, while comparative analyses by academic experts shed light on a range of further factors that facilitated these changes, including the semi-authoritarian nature of postcommunism, economic aspects, civil society strategies and resources, and youth participation.

A remarkable sequence of democratic changes has swept through Central and Eastern Europe in recent years. In Slovakia and Croatia, Serbia, Georgia and Ukraine, postcommunist politics had increasingly departed from the democratic reforms initiated after 1989. Instead, semi-authoritarian regimes had emerged that openly manipulated democratic processes and abused the human, civic and political rights of their citizens. Yet on the occasion of national elections, neo-autocrats in the five countries found themselves challenged by democratic alliances of opposition parties, civil society groups and citizens at large. These asserted a democratic choice over the future of their countries and, by way of peaceful mobilization, returned democratically elected governments to office.

Variously labeled "color revolutions," "transitions from postcommunism," or "electoral breakthroughs," and for some representing even a new "wave of democracy," the recent changes in the five countries have fascinated scholarly observers and democratic activists alike. For this reason, this book provides a cross-section of perspectives on recent democratic breakthroughs in Central and Eastern Europe. Case studies drafted by civic leaders present inside accounts of how civil society helped to assert democracy, while comparative analyses by academic experts shed light on a range of further factors that facilitated these changes, including the semi-authoritarian nature of postcommunism, economic aspects, civil society strategies and resources, and youth participation.

This book is a joint project of the German Marshall Fund of the United States (GMF) and Erste Foundation of Austria, and it was edited by GMF's Joerg Forbrig, Program Officer, and Pavol Demeš, Director for Central and Eastern Europe.